Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

To update or not to update to iOS 5 beta?

E

elie.fares

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 13, 2008
188
250
Ever since the iOS 5 features were unveiled, I've been wondering if I should update my iPhone 4 to the beta version or not.
So I figured I'd ask here. What do you think?
 
If you're a power user, you're probably going to notice some significant drops in battery time. If I could do it again, I'd wait until the second beta.
 
If you're not a dev and if this is your main phone then stay clear. I'm as tempted as anyone to get my hands on iOS 5 but I don't want to mess up my main phone just because I'm impatient.
 
adztaylor said:
If you're not a dev and if this is your main phone then stay clear. I'm as tempted as anyone to get my hands on iOS 5 but I don't want to mess up my main phone just because I'm impatient.
Click to expand...
There's nothing to "mess up". As long as you have your SHSH's saved, then you can go right back down to 4.3.3 anytime you want.
 
adztaylor said:
If you're not a dev and if this is your main phone then stay clear. I'm as tempted as anyone to get my hands on iOS 5 but I don't want to mess up my main phone just because I'm impatient.
Click to expand...

THIS.

I'm not a developer and I upgraded on Monday evening. For a beta, it's surprisingly stable. However, this is my only phone and I depend on it to run my business when I'm traveling. (Well--my phone and my iPad 2).

I've noticed some troubling bugs. When I try to view detailed map information--it crashes. When I try to answer incoming calls--it crashes now and then. The phone feels laggier overall, too. (iPhone 4 on Verizon).

The new notification system is nice--and certainly the most compelling reason to upgrade in my mind--but now that I've been using it for a few days--my personal advice would be to wait it out til the Fall. Frankly, I tried to downgrade and I couldn't. So I'm stuck. And i'm sure things will improve with delta updates. But there's a reason everyone says--if you're not a dev--and you upgrade--you're a dope. It's true. On the whole--it's not terrible....but I should have heeded everyone's advice.
 
Like Small White Car said, if you want functionality, wait for the official release. It's got "beta" in the title for a reason. Although from your use of the word 'functionality' I'm guessing you don't so much want functionality as you want new features.
 
I really enjoy a few of the features. If you are not JB, go for it. If you are, ask yourself 'can I live without a few of these features?

I can't live more than a few days without SBSettings, biteSMS, and having at least 5 icons per row so I'll be going back to 4.3.3
 
By functionality I mean: does the phone work or is it laggy? Will it be usable as my main phone?
I don't mind it being slow at some points. I've had to use my original 2G iPhone for 2 months because my iPhone 4 was broken. So yeah, I guess the main reason for me wanting to update would be the new features.

Thank you for the input everyone! :)
 
Power User: Go for it. You'll find that a lot of apps work, but not all the way. Many video apps do not work. Crashes, gets hotter than Georgia asphalt and battery life blows.

I got concerned about the longevity of my battery with the heat, so I backed out to 4.3.3 (and subsequently jail broke it).

I'll hop back in next beta or two.
 
If you iPhone is a mission critical, i.e., your business phone, your sole means of contact, dont. And if you do, dont complain if you have issues.

Its called BETA for a reason, I wish the dev-grade software had tighter controls, maybe we would avoid some of the HELP calls and postings.

Sorry for the mini-rant.

Andy
 
In the past I've been eager to install the betas, but not this time. I use my phone for business so I don't need the headaches and bugs that come with the beta. Also I just got a new phone because my last one's battery crapped out, and being able to use it for 2 days standby + 6-8 hours of usage is too good to pass up for some new features that aren't even finalized.
 
Thanks for the input, everyone!
I've decided to try it out. And so far so good :)
I don't mind the slowness at certain points. It's pretty usable so far.
 
elie.fares said:
Thanks for the input, everyone!
I've decided to try it out. And so far so good :)
I don't mind the slowness at certain points. It's pretty usable so far.
Click to expand...

if you've done it as a total clean install, you shouldn't hit any slowness, well i haven't the last 3 days, as when i restored from a backup it lagged to hell at times
 
If u are a dev go ahead and do it otherwise stay away from it.
you will find it buggy because it is in early stages so wait , if u really want it wait at least until beta 3

It's up to u

good luck =]
 
andythursby said:
if you've done it as a total clean install, you shouldn't hit any slowness, well i haven't the last 3 days, as when i restored from a backup it lagged to hell at times
Click to expand...

I've restored it from a backup actually. My data is more important :p the only slow parts I'm facing are related to the new features, such as double click for the camera on the lockscreen and certain apps crash. Apart from that, I quite like it :)
 
You don't even have to do that. Just download the 4.3.3 and choose restore while holding the shift key and the point to the 4.3.3 firmware. iTunes will do the rest for you :) it's as simple as that.
 
I personally wouldn't. I find it annoying having to deal with all the bugs. Just wait out a little longer until Apple releases a few updates that fix some major bugs that people seem to be having, and then update. I'd say wait until like July.
 
I installed iOS 5 on both my devices and I restored them back to 4.3.3 after a while. There are as expected too many bugs and there are also apps that do not run well. I tried using the Reminders app and it was really buggy. I am excited about iOS 5 but I will try the next betas and stay away from the current version.
 
elie.fares said:
I've restored it from a backup actually. My data is more important :p the only slow parts I'm facing are related to the new features, such as double click for the camera on the lockscreen and certain apps crash. Apart from that, I quite like it :)
Click to expand...

From clean install the only data I really lost were some SMS messages, synced all my apps, photos, songs and contacts over from the compute :p
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back